Kiwi Lee’s grand gesture to flood victims

Inverness (United Kingdom) (AFP) – New Zealand’s Danny Lee had been hoping to defend his title at this week’s PGA Tour Greenbrier Classic.

But instead he is donating money to the residents of the region following the widespread West Virginia flooding that resulted in the death of 24 people.

The 25-year-old — who is competing at the Scottish Open instead after the Greenbrier was cancelled as a result of the floods — is donating $500 for every birdie and $1,000 for every eagle he records at the Scottish Open.

To date, Lee has managed 11 birdies over the two rounds and has thus committed $5,500 to the flood relief appeal.

“I love to play golf every week but then making birdies and eagle are very important to me this week, as it’s very unfortunate what happened in West Virginia,” he said.

“I won the Greenbrier Classic last year, and it was my first PGA Tour win, and I was looking forward to defending my title and interacting with a lot of the fans, as the people were very nice to me.

“It’s really unfortunate what happened there, and hopefully I can make a little difference to the lives of the people affected so that’s why I am trying to make as many birdies as possible to a little bit of help.”

Days of heavy rain last week caused massive flooding in the state, where high waters have washed away cars, trapped hundreds and cut power to large areas.